Why Do We Digitalize? Contextualizing and Sustaining the Transformation in Systems Takuya Kitazawa ICT Advisor at Mzuzu E-Hub 

Digitization Digitalization Digital Transformation 

Digitization Convert analogue into digital IoT AI Data Website Mobile app Computer Smartphone 4G/5G network Social media 

Digitization Digitalization Convert analogue into digital Optimize processes and operations mzuzuehub.org/documents 

Digitization Digitalization Digital Transformation Convert analogue into digital Optimize processes and operations Drive cultural change and foster innovation 

Economic Empowerment Socio-economic opportunity for diverse populations Digital Transformation ? About the theme 

Economic Empowerment Socio-economic opportunity for diverse populations Digital Transformation Digitalization Innovation How people/organizations behave with digital tools Making the future tangible 

One-size-fits-all approaches The “best practices” won’t apply to the particular organizations/people Cookie-cutter computer education program Use new technology (AI, Blockchain, IoT, …) because it’s trending globally Acknowledge local contexts Challenge — Adaptation 

Short-sighted “innovation” Low-quality, prototype-grade, and unused outputs that don’t last longer New revenue-generating product that looks attractive but nobody actually uses Keep working on a “prototype” for years Take sustainability into account (i.e., long-term perspective) Challenge — Penetration 

Oversimplification of problems Addressing one issue depending on many factors won’t change anything fundamentally Data is clean, accurate, and beautiful, but stakeholders aren’t ready to consume it Start new business, but the lack of supporting laws/policies makes operation hard Communicate, coordinate, collaborate Challenge — Segmentation 

Innovation Digital transformation is complex. 

Innovation Technology 

Innovation Technology Skills Development 

Innovation Technology Skills Development Infrastructure 

Innovation Technology Skills Development Infrastructure Policy 

Innovation Technology Skills Development Infrastructure Policy Research and Development 

Innovation Technology Policy Infrastructure Funding Research and Development Skills Development 

Contextualize Optimize & prioritize for Malawi Sustain Work collectively for long-term 

From Digital 2024: Malawi https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2024-malawi 

Focus on local contexts — Huge potential in the country More than 50% of age <18 populations More than 80% of rural populations Sources: PopulationPyramid.net, The World Bank - Country profile / Data [Rural population, Agriculture employment] Around 80% of the population relying on agriculture for their livelihoods (more than 60% of total employment, incl. fisheries) Malawi has: What if their life/work is digitized, digitalized, and transformed? 

1. Check reality: So far in Malawi, who did what (to whom)? What were the results? ✓ Elaborate “Malawi context” ✓ Illustrate relationships between stakeholders 2. Reveal stakeholders’ motivation: Why is each stakeholder acting in such a way? 3. Think long-term: If we keep going, how does the future look like? ✓ Identify the gaps between our hope vs. reality ◻ What is an essential problem we have to collectively tackle? ◻ What is the most critical metric we need to optimize? ◻ Who are key stakeholders who must be involved from the beginning? Their roles? ◻ What can YOU do? Yet, don’t overlook the big picture — How? 

AfriLabs x Malawi City Technology & Innovation Meetup mzuzuehub.org/documents 

Workshop: Mastering Business Intelligence 

Why do we digitalize? — Vision, mission, strategy To/with whom? — People Digitalize what? — Scope and priority At where? — Situational context When? — Timing and market readiness How? — Process and operation Economic Empowerment Socio-economic opportunity for diverse populations Digital Transformation 

Recommendations Contextualize Start digital transformation from the field — by understanding your people Prioritize issues by their urgency, relevance, cost, and downstream impact Be agile and bottom-up — don’t wait until “it’s 100% ready” Sustain Work collectively with diverse people, between locality and global dynamics Talk about externalities — environment, mental health, economy Invest in quality — security, scalability, robustness 

Why Do We Digitalize? Contextualizing and Sustaining the Transformation in Systems Takuya Kitazawa ICT Advisor at Mzuzu E-Hub